This is Holly's page where she will document her work in the course.
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hollyao | January 23, 2011 10:32 PM | Reply
Antisocial behavior refers to behaviors which are opposite of what society deems socially appropriate or acceptable. Antisocial behavior can include violence and aggression, such as extreme acts like hitting, and other less extreme act such as swearing, or littering. Aggression is defined as a behavior with the intent to harm another individual. Violence stems from physical aggression that is severe and often causes serious injury. Violence is also seen as the most serious form of aggression.
The two aspects that I found to be interesting in the chapter was the Violence Escalation Cycle. Before reading that chapter, I found that I do tend to lose my temper easily and it is also easy to see how things can escalate so quickly. It is important to know how violence escalates and continues, especially if the person has a problem. The cycle seems to explain how a person who is losing their temper doesn’t really how extreme they are being, therefore leading to bad outcomes such as broken relationships, or even death. It is as though they aren’t satisfied with how they are handling things so their temper will escalate even faster.
Another topic I found to be interesting in the chapter was how the government and violence were related. The government such as the police use violence and force in order to achieve a desired outcome, yet sometimes it is obviously too much. I agree with Meegan; an example of this would be how the man who was reaching for his wallet was shot 19 times. It is horrifying and shows how the government has taken advantage of their abilities or their positions in the community.
The GAM focuses mainly on how to fully understand the violent actions of others and what exactly were their motives. The GAM also takes in cognitive factors and gives us a picture of the violence being done and the different aspects that are related to it.
The chapters I would be interested in reading: 11, 15, 17, and 19!
hollyao | January 20, 2011 11:25 AM | Reply
Throughout the past two weeks, I have been trying to keep up with this story in the news. I had first heard about it from my dad, right before I went to work. At first, it did scare me because I was unsure if the act of violence was planned, or it if it was spontaneous. Either way, it was an act of violence with underlying motives.
Sociological/Cultural
At first, people believed that his act of violence was a planned attack. This is what I would have believed, and I did for the most part, when I had first heard of the attacks. With the United States being so focused on terrorism and planned attacks, it’s as though we have completely forgotten that people can actually do random acts such as the shooting. Although Loughner did mention in his youtube videos posted on the internet that he thought the government was trying to pursue him by mind control, he did not display an intentional shooting on Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was the main victim in the shooting. I agree with Meegan; if it was a planned political assassination attempt then he would have just tried to kill her rather than injuring others.
Along with the political standpoint, those on the left think that he had an “apparent embrace of conspiracy theories about a federal socialist takeover” and those on the right believe that he was trying to become familiar with Karl Marx and the communism point of view, to just show he is a liberal. But, even if Loughner didn’t have a political motive, he still killed 8 and injured 13 others at a political event, which would obviously spark political debate.
Socialization-
On the day of the attack, Loughner showed obvious signs of hate against Giffords because of the notes officials found in his residence. There was a note saying “I planned ahead” and “Die Bitch”. Obviously, this would exemplify hatred against and would be a plan of attack, but why exactly? Before the attack, Loughner worked at a big-brand store, volunteered at the animal shelter and lived at home with his parents. This could be a case of an anti-social disorder since those close to him said that he did not get along with his coworkers, and he was basically isolated in his own world because he still lived at home. Loughner was overall a loner, with poor social skills, and was withdrawn from society.
Genetic/Biological/Physiological/Evolutionary
We are not aware yet of Loughner’s mental illnesses but many believe that he is a schizophrenic, since it is easy to label him as one. This would be because of the media looking for an answer, in which this case they are quick to judge, and label. Schizophrenia may be a reason as to why Loughner committed such a crime, but he may have other mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or was a drug/alcohol abuser. Since he is a male, then that could also explain why he did commit such a crime, since males are shown to be more violent than others. Loughner was shown to abuse alcohol and marijuana. Alcohol is also shown to make you violent, therefore this could be another reason as to why he did the shooting.
Psychological
The drugs that Loughner has been accused of using have been using have been alcohol, marijuana, and amphetamines. These drugs have side effects when mixed with Loughner’s accused mental instabilities such as anger, depression, paranoia, and hostility. Also, Loughner is only 22 years old, therefore he would be a perfect candidate for schizophrenia since the majority of people who develop schizophrenia are in their college years. His community college noticed patterns of bizarre behavior before the shooting, such as anger problems and absences. Again, I am not one to diagnose him for any mental illness, it is just that he has shown symptoms of these illnesses.
URL's:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41018932
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41089634
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41010495
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanton-peele/why-dont-we-just-force-pe_b_808885.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/colleges-struggle-to-cope_n_809884.html
hollyao | January 23, 2011 10:05 PM | Reply
Personally, I believe that they both may have sufferred from some form of mental illness such as depression, or anxiety. To me, that does not fully explain why they decided to committ suicide because I also believe that the bullying tipped them over the edge. I remember reading and blogging about the suicide of Tyler Clementi and remember feeling so sad for me. It is as though the media that covered that story was also empathatic and that they were trying to get the word out ever more on bullying. It is really sad that this sort of violence still exists today because of the amount of awareness there is about bullying.
hollyao | January 23, 2011 9:57 PM | Reply
I would like my expert topic to be about abuse towards the elderly. Specifically I would like to dive into neglect and physical abuse, along with emotional abuse of the elderly given by caregivers, or loved ones. I will look for a reason or motive behind the violent behavior done by their caregivers or loved ones. Also, I want to find out how it affects them both physically, and emotionally.
hollyao | February 1, 2011 2:03 PM | Reply
The material in the readings contained information on suicide in general, suicidal thoughts such as considering suicide, what to do when someone you know is suicidal, and how to cope with your emotions when someone you know does commit suicide. I thought that all of these sites were helpful, and for the most part interesting. What surprised me the most about the reading was all the support being done for the individual that is considering suicide. The website seemed to be really caring about both the people considering suicide, and the people who are healing from having a loved home commit suicide. The website offered many coping strategies for the people suffering, such as reminding them that there are going to be triggers reminding them of their loved one like holidays and anniversaries. Also, the website featured a section on bracing yourself for powerful emotions such as guilt, shock, anger, and despair. I think that the person will expect to experience some emotions, but the reading seem to encourage them to expect them, and to face them head on, which I believe is a positive way of dealing with your emotions.
The section of the readings that I am most interested in would be the section explaining what to do when someone is suicidal. This pertains to me in more ways than one. I have not actually known anyone that was suicidal and actually went through with it, but I am friends with many people who have experienced it. For example, while attending Iowa Central in Fort Dodge from 2007-2009, I was affected by the unusual number of suicides in the area. Off of the top of my head I can name off 6 people that committed suicide during my two years there, and that’s not even counting the people that I didn’t know. I was friends with a lot of the people who grew up in Fort Dodge and the surrounding areas, so I heard about them and tried to help my friends cope. If my friends and the victim’s families would be able to see the signs and would have known some of ways to predict whether or not they were suicidal. The warning signs mentioned such as abusing alcohol and drugs, dramatic mood swings, etc would maybe have helped the victim’s loved ones. Also, the coping section would have been helpful for my friends and their victim’s families.
After reading through these readings, I think I believe that suicide is not necessarily a type of violence. The people who do commit suicide seem to be extremely depressed, and I believe that they are trying to make their voice heard even though the way they went about it was committing suicide, which is final. The people that I have known that have committed suicide were not violent people, and many of them kept quiet and appeared to be happy. Even though I do believe that suicide is a violent act to oneself, I do not believe that suicidal people try to cause suffering, or violence with their loved ones and the people affected by their suicide.
hollyao | January 28, 2011 1:50 PM | Reply
Before reviewing this website, I felt as though self-harm and cutting is actually violent, but now after reading through this website I am not so sure. I am aware that self-harm is a type of behavior that does cause pain, but in most cases it is a type of relieving pain and letting go of buried emotions. This behavior seems to be represented as an addictive behavior, since many can’t find the urge to stop. Most do feel the urge to keep persisting until they feel satisfied.
I agree with Sadie; I can’t really understand how they feel the urge to do it since I have never felt the urge to injure myself like that.
I was raised to think that my body is a temple and I should take care of it. That way of thinking led to me think that the way a person is brought up and their home life obviously has a large effect on their behavior. Take Alyssa for example, she was abused by her dad and was obviously physically and emotionally abused. Alyssa is trying to stop cutting, but in that email she sent Steve she claimed she was trying extremely hard not to. This would also exemplify how cutting and self harm could be addictive since Alyssa claimed to be resisting the urge to cut.
Even though I am beginning to think that self-harm could maybe not be a type of violence, I do think that it needs to be in a violence class because of the awareness needed for the behavior. A point of view that I thought was somewhat real before reading this website and previous blogs is that people who cut and do self harm are seeking attention. This turned out to be a myth since most people do not seek attention when they practice self harm.
Mai, for example, talks about how she doesn’t cut to seek attention; she does it because it soothes her ultimately. She says she likes cutting more than burning herself, which is what her friend Jonathan does. She also says that she feels really angry, then relaxed, but at the same time she feels on edge. This seems confusing, and even she says that she can’t even explain herself. I think that Mai’s causes for her behavior is that she is suffering from extreme depression. She doesn’t really say why she cuts, she just explains how it makes her feel. I think that her obstacles while trying to get over this behavior will be to just stop resorting to cutting to relieve her pain. Since she loves the way it makes her feel and relaxes her, it is going to be hard for her to stop. I ultimately think that Mai could benefit from therapy, and perhaps a support group would be beneficial.
hollyao | February 16, 2011 12:53 PM | Reply
I personally thought that all of these sites were really informative, and I also believed that the quality was good. I feel that the sites were made to be easy to read and straight to the point because the people who go to these sites are probably really upset and emotionally unstable. I didn’t really find any bias in the websites. The only bias I got from reading through them was that they were aimed more towards women, but that is expected because it seems to be the most popular.
The domesticviolence.org demonstrated a view of domestic violence only towards women. This site, out of all of them, seemed to be the most biased. I am saying this only because the site is purple and a picture of a woman holding a child is displayed. The website does explain that domestic violence can happen to anyone, no matter what the sex. The explanation is in smaller print though, and you have to click to other links to find more information.
From Wikipedia, I learned that Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a term used to describe violence between partners. The terms “wife beater” or “wife abuser” are not as common anymore. I was not aware of this, but after thinking of using the term IPV I began to realize the term does represent domestic violence better. This is because of the amount of abuse that men and children take and how often they go unnoticed.
Helpguide.org is a website that offers help for people who believe they are in a violent relationship. The website also offers help for other mental health topics such as eating disorders, stress, and depression. I think that this website is really helpful because it offers help in other areas rather than just domestic violence. If a person is experiencing domestic violence then they most likely do have another mental health issue such as depression, anxiety, or stress.
Out of all the sites, I believe that the National Domestic Abuse hotline was the easiest and the most informative. It provided links to see whether you are being abused or not and to get help. My personal opinion is that people who do visit these sites are in an abusive relationship or at least think they are. After realizing that you might actually be in an abusive relationship, you have the option to browse through others blogs and comment if you like. The end of chapter 20 in the book notes how to recognize if there is an issue at home, and if you are actually in an abusive relationship. This relates to the National Domestic Abuse hotline because the website gives substantial advice in the “Is This Abuse?” section. This section asks the question: are you being abused, are you abusing others, and a section for teen abuse. I feel as though this site can be improved by explaining the emotional aspect of abuse more rather than asking simple questions such as, “does he embarrass you?” or “does he control you?” Other than that, I can’t really think of anything to improve this website because I believe that it is an overall great site.
hollyao | February 9, 2011 8:27 PM | Reply
The topic that I have chosen to blog about is the addiction and recovery articles on huffingtonpost.com. After the discussion in Tuesday’s class about addiction and being a Psychology major, I have already taken drugs and individual behavior so this seemed to be an interesting take on addiction and recovery. I have become familiar with huffingtonpost.com since I have taken a couple of classes with Otto, but I have never noticed the addiction and recovery section in the site.
One of the topics that caught my eye right away was the internet addiction center that was opening in the U.S. Though the types of addiction that we covered in the class on Tuesday was about the abuse of drugs and alcohol, I still think that this could pertain to violence and addiction because of the amount of exposure that sex and drugs have on the internet. Once I think about it, those who are addicted to the internet may be addicted to sites on the internet that could lead to violence such as chat rooms, or porn sites. Even though internet addiction is a little off topic; it could still be tied into violence; that is in my eyes. Binge drinking among college students is another section that caught my attention, mainly because I am a college student and I do drink occasionally. Alcoholism is a problem in the United States, and I believe that besides starting at home, the problem starts in college or during the traditional college age (18-23).
The topic that I really want to concentrate on is the article of having an addictive personality. In the past, I have told myself and close friends that I do have an addictive personality (somewhat). This is because I find myself diving into activities head first and really participating in them to the point where they could be seen as being addictive. For example, in the past I really wanted to lose ten pounds, so I went crazy for two weeks with working out and eating healthy. I did lose some weight, but it wasn’t an unhealthy stint such as excessive dieting and working out in relation to eating disorders. Ironically, I did become addicted to cigarettes during that time and have since tried quitting altogether.
In the article, Krupp mentioned that whether you are addicted to sex, shopping, or drugs, the urge “Hijacks the brain, overpowering the analytical part involving good-decision making.” This could lead to destroying relationships, finances, or careers. If those things are ruined then the person may take their frustration out on themselves or others, which would be seen as violent. For example, if a person addicted to shopping ruins a relationship with someone they care about, then that person could turn to alcohol and drugs, which are even addicting than shopping. It is like a never ending cycle, being that the person in the first place has an addiction problem.
In relation to violence, I think that having an addictive personality could possibly be seen as violent, but only to an extent. If a person has an addiction to shopping then I don’t necessarily see that as violent because it is materialistic, and not really hurting them or causing pain physically. In contrast with shopping, a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol may be seen as violent because alcohol is known to make people aggressive, along with drugs.
Both people who have addictive personalities and those who abuse drugs and alcohol have biological concepts that would explain why they are addicted in the first place. The brain chemical dopamine is involved in motivation, pleasure, and learning. For the people who don’t find satisfaction in everyday life, they may try to find pleasure elsewhere and this is because dopamine goes into overtime to “fix” it. While trying to relate addictive personalities to violence, it is important to remember that genetics and biology are involved, along with environmental factors.
hollyao | February 2, 2011 12:07 AM | Reply
Before reading through this material, and by doing the last assigned blog, I was somewhat confused by the use of violence in suicide. I felt as though I was slightly confused because I really didn’t want to think of someone who is suicidal being depressed and wanting to act violently upon themselves. Then, I realized after reading through this material that even suicidal people are depressed, and that since they are projecting destructive actions towards themselves then they are actually being violent. In my eyes, there really is no easy way of going about killing yourself, since the ultimate goal and fate is death, which is most certainly a violent notion.
Suicide prevention and violence prevention are, hypothetically speaking, the same, yet different at the same time. I say this because there have been organizations existing for a while that help with a person who is feeling down or depressed. This could be a hotline where a person can call about a violent episode with, for example, their spouse or parent. These types of violent episodes may lead to depression, which could possibly lead to suicide, considering depression is a sign that someone could be suicidal. That being said, I do believe that violence prevention could be used in suicide prevention since they all seem to follow one another, like a chain reaction.
I was somewhat aware of the amount of online resources that deal with suicide prevention and violence prevention, but I was unaware of the Suicide Project, and the amount of people who write for that website on a daily basis. I was really surprised with the amount of people who have already written for Feb. 1st, and already for Feb. 2nd! These people are really crying out for help, and after reading through their posts it is clear to see that violence is in their lives. Since violence seems to be a regular occurrence for these people, then violence prevention could help them along with suicide prevention services.
Before listening to this lecture I really did believe that we are more violent today then we have ever been. It doesn’t help that the media covers violence on a daily basis, and that violence seems to be the only topic ever discussed on the news. It was somewhat refreshing to hear someone claim that we are not really that violent today, because that is all I seem to hear about in political and social discussions. Therefore, I do believe that Steven Pinker does have some good points and evidence. According to Pinker, we are in a lesser state of violence when compared to eras such as biblical, medieval, hunter- gatherer times, etc. It seems as though Pinker is trying to convince us that those times are far more violent then they are perceived to be, and that our society today is seen as more violent because of the media, and the technology that makes us live longer (and the fact that we don’t go around seeing who can kill each other first, to an extent).
Since Pinker was mainly speaking of how we are not as violent as we used to be throughout his whole talk, it was somewhat hard to come up with some criticisms of his presentation. So, I looked at the blogs posted below the video. First off, the value of life is far greater than it was 200-300 years ago, so you do not usually see people run around on the streets killing other people for stealing, lets say a simple item such as an apple. Pinker also touched on poverty and how poverty is a form of violence. I do agree with that somewhat; I believe that the poor in the United States are trying to “get out of a rut” ( which is how a blogger put it). The poor can’t afford education or healthcare, so they seem to be more violent.
I believe that the overall pattern of violence matters if you are an abused child. I also think that abused children experience a steady stream of low violence, with the occasional peak of high violence. The steadiness of low violence makes it harder to forget, because it may be all the child has ever known. Even though the “violence trend” is going down, it isn’t going to affect the already abused child.
I don’t think that we should back off and assume that violence is falling. We still need to take certain measures to prevent violence. Overall, violence is injustice to all and not just one person. For it affects one, it affects the rest of the people involved in that person’s life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST_7kf7UCqw
This youtube video is of the actor, Mickey Rooney, and his experience with elder abuse.
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-322-10pm.html
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-45-10pm.html
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/topical-blog-331-10pm.html#comments
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-329-10pm.html#comments
chapter 13
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/topical-blog---324-10pm.html#comments
gangland
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-322-10pm.html#comments
Chapter 17
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-412-10pm.html#comments
chapter 12
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/topical-blog-414-10pm.html#comments
FBI website
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-419-10pm.html#comment-15623
chapter 16
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/topical-blog-421-10pm.html
genocide topical blog, holocaust, in relation to self, dyadic, familial
Even though I have been working on my expert topic mostly all of the semester, I have recently begun working on it more intensely. I have researched more and have read a couple of journal articles about elder abuse. I have also worked on perfecting the layout of my brochure, and have started on the powerpoint with the information I have obtained.
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/psychology_of_violence/2011/03/reading-blog-426-10pm.html#comments
PTSD and CSR